House Speaker Holds Talks with Australian Counterpart in Sydney

Budapest, November 11 (MTI) – Speaker of Parliament Laszlo Kover held talks with Bronwyn Bishop, Speaker of the Australian parliament’s House of Representatives, in Sydney, the press chief of Hungarian parliament said on Tuesday.

Kover told his counterpart that as part of Hungary’s strategy of opening up to the East, the government is seeking new opportunities for cooperation and investment, and it considers Australia, with its advanced economy, an important partner, Zoltan Szilagyi told MTI in statement.

Kover noted that bilateral trade between the two countries had almost doubled in the first seven months of the year compared with the same period of 2013.

He thanked Australia for accepting Hungarian refugees who left Hungary after the 1956 revolution.

“This community of more than 100,000 Hungarians are a special bond between the two countries and can contribute considerably to enhancing bilateral cooperation in the future,” Kover said.

One important goal in cultural cooperation is for Hungary to open a cultural centre in Sydney and Australia should do the same in Budapest, he said.

Bishop expressed thanks for the Hungarian community’s contribution to the advancement of Australia over the past decades and noted excellent cooperation between Australia and Hungary in international organisations.